Ice sheets are formed and retained in several ways in nature, and an understanding of these factors is needed before most structures can be successfully applied. Many ice sheet retention structures float and are somewhat flexible; others are fixed and rigid or semirigid. An example of the former is the Lake Erie ice boom and of the latter, the Montreal ice control structure. Ice sheet retention technology is changing. The use of timber cribs is gradually but not totally giving way to sheet steel pilings and concrete cells. New structures and applications are being tried but with caution. Ice-hydraulic analyses are helpful in predicting the effects of structures and channel modifications on ice cover formation and retention. Often, varying the flow rate in a particular system at the proper time will make the difference between whether a structure will or will not retain ice. The structure, however, invariably adds reliability to the sheet ice retention process. (Author)

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